Half Brothers Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Half Brothers Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 4, 2021

Talk about a rather poorly conceived marketing campaign. One look at the poster art for Half Brothers suggests a halfhearted, and probably heartless (and witless), Comedy about two guys and a goat on the run for whatever reason and, hey, they look different, too, so the marketing machine automatically churned out "funny." While there's a humorous undercurrent pulsing through parts of the film, particularly in its second act, Half Brothers is, at its heart, a rather tender, sometimes sobering, and surprisingly well meaning picture about broken relationships, skewered perspectives, and the importance of seeing life's bigger picture, which may not always be front and focused. Director Luke Greenfield's (Something Borrowed) film explores broken promises, new lives, wounded souls, and a last-ditch effort at reconciliation, reconnection, and rededication to family. Mending hearts means melting them for the film's protagonist, a man whose absentee father left a glaring hole in his soul that has not prevented him from "succeeding" in life but has left him cold and in desperate need of an emotional thaw.

Young Renato (Ian Inigo) shares a perfect relationship with his father Flavio (Juan Pablo Espinosa). The two are inseparable and share a passion for aviation. Joy follows everywhere they go, and theirs is a father-son relationship worthy of envy and model. But when Mexican currency is greatly, and suddenly, devalued, Flavio has no choice but to leave his son and wife behind and travel to the United States in search of financial opportunity. He promises to return. He never does. Years later, Renato (Luis Gerardo Méndez) has become a successful entrepreneur who has no plans to expand into the United States. He holds a terribly one-sided view of the country, obviously shaped by his father’s travel to, and failure to return from, the land. One day he receives a phone call from a woman who says she is his father’s wife. He’s living in Chicago and has fallen very ill. Renato has no interest in visiting him, but he ultimately relents only days before his own wedding. What he finds is a father who still loves him very much and wishes to explain to his son all that has happened since they separated years ago. He has planned a journey for Renato, and Renato’s half-brother Asher (Connor Del Rio), himself secretly carrying scars from his relationship with Flavio, to discover the life he lived and the reasons why his life took the turns that led him to Asher and away from Renato.

From the outset Half Brothers Succinctly and sincerely builds a heartfelt relationship between father and son, one through which the audience connects to them and experiences those same joys of tight-knit bonding and the anguish of separation. The relationship is not just jovial, it's genuine. In mere minutes the film establishes several critical elements -- all of which will prove vital in the film's surprise final reveal -- that will come to define the story and the viewer's rooting interests in it. As an adult, Renato is a cold man but understandably so. He was all but abandoned. His father left with good intentions but never returned to his son. Renato assumes it was because of a lack of love. His father is now out to prove otherwise. The film's crux is that journey of discovery where it's not just the physical stops along the way but the emotional healings that take place at each point on the map, small healings that gradually move from skin deep to more deeply within the soul and the essence of the father-on relationship.

Not to be forgotten is Asher, a character written as an opposite of his half-brother. Where Renato is more serious minded and more obviously wounded from his relationship with his father, Asher carries his scars deeper. He puts on a light, jovial front -- evidenced in the way he carries himself, his language, his dress, and other superficialities -- but it quickly becomes clear that he is both smarter and more capable than he seems and more vulnerable than his attitude would suggest. Here are two men in Renato and Asher who could not be any more different yet come from the same father. They have both experienced loss in their incomplete relationships with their father that has come to define who they are. The film also explores how cultural differences impacted their upbringing, but to a far lesser, and far less interesting, level.

To be sure, Half Brothers is not a Comedy. It's in the efforts to add too much humor to an otherwise sober yet compelling story where the movie stumbles. Its open and finale are terrific -- moving, sincere, heartfelt, real -- but there's too much wasted energy in the middle and the film seems uncomfortable with pushing fully forward with the more impressively defined and engaging dramatic content, feeling the need to offset it only to lessen it instead. There's also an inescapable air of predictability and thematic generic-ness to the movie, but it is written and performed well enough to ensure that the stale center doesn’t taint the touching outer rims. There are some legitimately beautiful performances here and several touching and compelling scenes. A bit of rework and focus would have done wonders for it. Still, it's quite good as it is, flaws and all.

Half Brothers Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The digitally photographed Half Brothers takes on a bright, shiny, clean, clear, and colorful presentation style. It's very efficient and satisfying if also unremarkable in the larger Blu-ray landscape. The picture works well in all areas. Details are crisp and sharp, well capable of presenting fine skin details, intricate location textures across a disparate series of landscapes, and well-defined clothing with ease. Colors are vibrant. The palette yields solid saturation across the spectrum. Contrast is neutral, primaries are vivid, whites are crisp, and blacks are deep. Some noise sprinkles in here and there, occasionally even in well-lit scenes, but the picture is free of other problems, either source or encode. No real complaints here.

Half Brothers Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack is likewise efficient if not unremarkable. The presentation is very front-heavy with only scattered atmospherics offering opportunity for the rear channels to find activity and engagement. Such is evident particularly in some of the more barren locales (listen around the 28:40 mark for insect and wind support) and some choice interiors, though even at its most pronounced the rear channels are engaged only in modest, yet vital, support. The track does make fine use of the front, spreading music and effects widely and with superior clarity at that. Dialogue drives the bulk of the listening experience and it's presented clearly and evenly from a natural front-center position.

Half Brothers Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Half Brothers contains several extras, included deleted scenes and an audio commentary track. No DVD copy is included with purchase but Universal has included a Movies Anywhere digital copy code. This release ships with an embossed slipcover.

• Deleted/Extended/Alternate Scenes (1080p, 8:33 total runtime): Included are First Driving Scene, Factory Walk and Talk - Extended, Asher Plays Pool - Extended, Outside Jalisco - Extended, Flavio Bus Scene, Cabin Approach - Extended, Convent Nun, and Renato Freaks Out - Alternate Tale.
• Three Men and a Goat (1080p, 5:16): Exploring project origins, characters, cast contributions and performances, working with George the Goat, and more.
• A Matter of Perspective (1080p, 4:06): Looking at story themes and particularly the theme of "perspective."
• Finding Eloise (1080p, 3:19): Looking at the film's finale.
• Audio Commentary: Director Luke Greenfield delivers a well spoken and informative track that jumps around from topic to topic but still flows nicely. It covers inspirations, the challenges in making the movie, budgetary constraints, story and themes, performances, technical details, and more.

Half Brothers Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Renato and Asher could not be more distinct and disparate, even if they share their father's genetic makeup. The film tries to make their differences a point for comedy even when the dramatic angles prove far more rewarding. But despite a few drawbacks with tone and focus, Half Brothers proves to be a very agreeable little film that plays well, and satisfyingly so, even if there's ample room for improvement. Universal's Blu-ray is solid all around, featuring good video and audio presentations and a fair assortment of supplements. Recommended.